TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Identification of dysfunctional human-dog dyads through dog ownership histories
JO  - Open veterinary journal
A1  - Canejo-Teixeira, Rute
A1  - Neto, Isabel
A1  - Baptista, Luís V.
A1  - Niza, Maria Manuela Rodeia Espada
SP  - 140
EP  - 146
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
N2  - The human-dog relationship is at least 16,000-years old and is mutually beneficial to both dyadic members. When the human-dog relationship becomes dysfunctional, however, there can be serious consequences for both parties and for society. Unfortunately, dysfunctional dyads are normally only identified after consequences have been felt (e.g., dog-human aggression) limiting the action that can be taken to prevent such occurrences. To evaluate whether these dysfunctional dyads can be preemptively identified, a questionnaire analyzing the owners' dog health care histories was administered to an urban dog owning population. Multiple correspondence analysis (<i>n</i> = 1,385) was conducted and identified three clusters accounting for 37.1% of the total variance, while four moderate positive correlations were found: "unspecified trauma" with "vehicular trauma" (<i>r</i> = 0.303, <i>p</i> < 0.001), "bitten" with "bit other animal" (<i>r</i> = 0.345, <i>p</i> < 0.001), "bit a person" with "bit other animal" (<i>r</i> = 0.369, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and "chronic illness" with "hospitalized" (<i>r</i> = 0.297, <i>p</i> < 0.001). These results suggest that a simple questionnaire can identify potential characteristics of functional and dysfunctional dyads. In functional dyads, humans tend to be responsible for their dogs' well-being, while dysfunctional dyads show the opposite characteristics, reporting experience with trauma and dog aggression.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2226-4485
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ovj.v9i2.8
ID  - ref1
ER  -